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Mobile Syrup

BlackBerry headed to trail over allegations it mislead investors

Sep 14, 2019 Mountain View / CA / USA – Blackberry logo at their HQ in Silicon Valley; BlackBerry Ltd (former developer of the BlackBerry smartphones) specializes in enterprise software and IOT

BlackBerry is heading to trial over allegations it defrauded investors.

It’s alleged the company inflated revenues on its BlackBerry 10 smartphones in 2013 to keep its stock safe.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based company will likely face trial in September or October of this year, New York judge Colleen McMahon ruled this week.

McMahon made the decision after the company’s latest bid to have the lawsuit, filed in 2013, dismissed. According to reporting from Reuters, issues over fact, including BlackBerry’s accounting, remained, leading McMahon to declare a trial overruling in favour of one party.

This is the latest in a dying saga; the news came just a day before the company officially killed its once-famous smartphones. The company has shifted its focus away from phones to cybersecurity.

Image credit: ShutterStock 

Source: Reuters

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Mobile Syrup

January security patch rolls out to Google Pixel 3a to Pixel 5a devices

Google is rolling out the January security patch today for the Pixel 3a, Pixel 4, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 5 and the U.S.-only Pixel 5a; however, Google is not rolling the update out to the Pixel 6 family until later.

The January security patch provides a fix for an Android issue that can prevent emergency calls. The update also fixes some Wi-Fi dropping issues, incorrect data usage accounting, a memory leak in the system UI and more.

You can check out all the fixes here. The update should hit your handset over the air.

If you own any of the above Pixel phones, you can check for the update in Settings > System Update > Check for update.

Unfortunately, Pixel 6 owners won’t get the Pixel 6 update until later this month. Due to a bug, Google paused the December rollout to the Pixel 6 family. Pixel 6 owners will get the January and December rolled into one and the update later this January.

Source: Google

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Mobile Syrup

The worlds worst smart home company is trying again at CES 2022

Cync is back at CES 2022 with a plethora of new smart lights and products, but I’m not going to talk about them. Instead, let’s discuss how terrible the existing Cync lights are.

As a gadget reviewer, I get to test out many products, which usually means I do a lot of research when it comes to buying my own gear. However, when I needed four new smart lightbulbs a few months ago, I decided that since every bulb I’ve ever tested has been more or less fine, I’d just grab a few Cync bulbs.

This was a big mistake. 

I picked up two types of Cync bulbs, including a normal incandescent and an RGB. I tried five or six times over multiple months to set up the lights with the Cync app, only for it to fail time and time again.

After this, I resorted to using the smart lights like regular bulbs with a switch. Then, finally, after several months, I found an unopened Cync light when cleaning my basement and noticed that it said it could be “seamlessly” set up with Google on the box. 

Armed with this new info, I found that if I moved the bulbs to the same room as my Nest Audio smart speaker I was able to set them up directly through the Google Home app. This is good for me since it means that I didn’t waste $60 on lightbulbs and that I never had to open the Cync app again. However, I’d still call this a terrible user experience since it’s something I’d never expect my friends to figure out how to set up. Further, as much as it works for me, the Home app only offers roughly 50 percent of the light’s intended functionality.

Looking online, you can see that there are dozens of bad reviews for the Cync app and every Google Search about the smart lights seems to turn up stories of people having issues.

The company still sells these bulbs and if this new report from The Verge is any indication, it appears that it’s doubling down on its app this year. The report even mentions that Cync will start using the new Smart Home standard Matter to bring more products from other companies into its app

A new version of the app releases in March — just in time for my birthday — so perhaps this rebuild will solve the poor first attempt.

However, it seems like Cync is either blissfully unaware of its faulty products or simply doesn’t care.

MobileSyrup has reached out to Cync for more information about its new products and to see if the company is aware of the issues with its existing lights. I also plan to go hands-on with the new lights once they release this March.

Source: Cync Via: The Verge 

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Mobile Syrup

Intel details new 12th Gen Core mobile processors at CES 2022

Intel kicked off CES 2022 by announcing its 12th Gen Intel Core Mobile chips, which include what the company boldly claims is the “fastest mobile processor ever.”

There are 28 12th gen mobile processors joining 22 desktop processors, with Intel’s Core i9-12900HK leading the pack and running on the Intel 7 process (Intel’s new, confusing name for its 10nm ‘SuperFin Enhanced’ process). The company also detailed new 65- and 35-watt 12th Gen desktop processors and Core U- and P-series mobile processors aimed at ultra-thin-and-light designs.

The Core i9-12900HK is the flagship of Intel’s 12th Gen mobile CPUs and heads the H-series processors aimed at gaming rigs and other high-performance mobile machines. It also bears the crown of “fastest mobile processor ever created,” although it remains to be seen how this (and other 12th Gen CPUs) stack up to the competition in real-world testing.

Intel’s new chips utilize the ‘P-core’ and ‘E-core’ designs the company first detailed at its October Innovation event. As a refresher, P- and E-cores represent performance and efficiency, respectively, and should help the 12th Gen mobile chips better deliver performance when needed, and scale back to conserve power in other situations. The 12th Gen H-series CPUs offer up to 5GHz clock speeds, 14 cores comprised of up to six P-cores and eight E-cores, and 20 threads total.

The company says its H-series CPUs offer up to 28 percent “faster gaming” than last year’s Core i9-11980HK. Additionally, Intel says users “may see up to 43% higher performance in 3D rendering gen-over-gen.”

Moreover, the new CPUs offer support for DDR5 and DDR4 memory, integrated Wi-Fi 6E, Thunderbolt 4 and more.

Other announcements from Intel include updates to its Evo certification platform, with over 100 co-engineered designs sporting 12th Gen Intel chips (including some with foldable displays) are expected to start passing Evo verification soon. These designs include Intel P- and U-series chips, and for the first time, H-series chips. Intel says it expects most of these products to be available for purchase in the first half of 2022.

On the desktop side, Intel announced new ‘Laminar Coolers’ for its 65-watt processors alongside the 22 new desktop CPUs unveiled at CES.

Finally, Intel wrapped things up with some details about its vPro business platform, which include a new vPro Enterprise platform, vPro and Intel Evo designs and a small-business-oriented vPro Essentials platform.

Those interested can learn more about Intel’s CES announcements here. You can check out more news from CES 2022 here.

Images credit: Intel

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Mobile Syrup

Xbox reveals collaboration with nail polish brand OPI

Xbox’s latest collaboration isn’t with Rockstar, Monster or Doritos. Instead, it’s with OPI, a popular nail polish brand.

This refreshingly different partnership features 12 different colours with game-inspired names like “Achievement Unlocked,” “The Pass is Always Greener,” “Can’t CTRL Me” and “You Had Me at Halo.”

Similar to Microsoft’s recent partnership with Rockstar Energy, each nail polish purchase unlocks in-game content in Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5, including a purple Spartan skin and an orange and pink car colour.

Buyers will also be entered for the chance to win an Xbox Series X/S gamepad inspired by the OPI line’s various colours.

The nail polish line is launching in the U.S first and will make its way to other regions on February 1st. The OPI – Xbox Nail Lacquers start at $10.50 USD (roughly $13.30 CAN) and Infinite Shine colours cost $13 USD (about $16.51 CAD) at utla.com starting in January 2022, and they will also be available at other beauty retailers in Februray.

Image credit: Newswire

Source: Xbox, Newswire

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Mobile Syrup

Apple is now the most valuable company in the world

Barcelona, Spain – June 7, 2018: Logo of Apple Inc. on a Apple store. Apple is the multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California and sells consumer electronics products.

Apple started the year right with a stock market high on the first day of trading for 2022.

According to Reuters, the stock market value for Apple hit $3 trillion USD (roughly $3.8 trillion CAD), making it the first company to ever do so.

Shares hit a high of $182.88 USD (roughly $232 CAD). The $3 trillion milestone didn’t last long, as shares dropped to $182.01 (roughly $231 CAD) and the company closed the day with $2.99 trillion USD.

The article notes the company’s shares have risen 5,800 percent since Steve Jobs revealed the first iPhone in 2007. Investors are speculating Apple’s value will continue growing, as the company launches new products, and perhaps even enter new markets, such as automated vehicles.

Prior to reaching the new milestone, Apple was only one of two companies that had a value of $2 trillion USD. The other was Microsoft, which now has a value of $2.5 trillion.

Alphabet (the parent company of Google), Amazon, and Tesla are valued at more than $1 trillion USD.

Image source: ShutterStock

Source: Reuters

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Mobile Syrup

Sony’s new TV camera will tell you if your children are sitting too close to the TV

Sony’s latest innovation unveiled at CES 2022 is a webcam designed for TVs, and while that in itself isn’t that interesting, some of its features are.

The Bravia Cam is what Sony is calling its new TV webcam that will come bundled with the company’s 2022 lineup, though it’s also available to purchase separately. The smart webcam can detect where and when you’re sitting and adjusts the television’s settings accordingly, including TV brightness, volume and sound balance, which can tune the audio for your relative position in front of the TV.

The Bravia Cam can also help you save electricity, as it will automatically dim the TV after it detects that you’ve moved away from it. You can set the dimming to take place within as little as a minute of you leaving the room, or you can set it to go off after an hour.

However, one of the main features the camera offers is especially useful if you have children. You can set up a proximity alert that will automatically pop up on the screen if the camera detects that someone is sitting too close to the TV.

Not repositioning to a farther distance causes the TV screen to blackout until the individual moves back to a safe viewing distance. By default, this setting will be on and can likely be configured to your needs. The camera can also be used to control and navigate the TV with gestures, though that isn’t that novel of a feature.

Sony hasn’t revealed the pricing or the release date for its new Bravia Cam.

You can check out more news from CES 2022 here.

Image credit: Sony

Source: Sony Via: The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

What’s new on Xbox Game Pass on console, PC and mobile in early January 2022

Every month, Xbox adds new games to its Xbox Game Pass subscription service.

Typically, new games are rolled out in two waves, and now, Xbox has revealed January’s first batch of Game Pass catalogue additions.

Notably, BioWare Edmonton’s Mass Effect: Legendary Edition leads the early January Game Pass lineup.

  • Gorogoa (Cloud, Console and PC) — January 4th
  • Olija (Cloud, Console and PC) — January 4th
  • Embr (Cloud, Console and PC) — January 6th
  • Mass Effect Legendary Edition (Console and PC) — January 6th
  • Outer Wilds (Cloud, Console and PC) — January 6th
  • Spelunky 2 (Console and PC) — January 13th
  • The Anacrusis (Game Preview) (Console and PC) — January 13th

Additionally, here’s what’s leaving Xbox Game Pass on January 15th:

  • Desperados III (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Ghost of a Tale (PC)
  • Kingdom Hearts III (Console)
  • Mount & Blade: Warband (Cloud, Console and PC)
  • Pandemic (Console and PC)
  • Yiik: A Postmodern RPG (PC)

It’s also worth noting that PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds will be removed from Game Pass on January 10th, but it’s then going free-to-play for everyone on January 12th.

Xbox Game Pass is available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Android and iOS in beta. Game Pass for Console and PC Game Pass each cost $11.99 CAD/month.

Meanwhile, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate costs $16.99/month and is required for streaming (which Xbox refers to as ‘Cloud’) to mobile devices and browsers. On top of that, this tier includes Game Pass for both Console and PC, as well as subscriptions to Xbox Live Gold and EA Play.

Find out what came to Game Pass in December here.

Image credit: EA

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Mobile Syrup

Moen introduces a handle-free smart faucet at CES 2022

A new smart faucet will soon hit the market, and it’s completely hands-free.

The Moen Smart Faucet with Motion Control was introduced by fixture company Moen at CES 2022.

The faucet features a sensor that can turn on hot, warm, or cold water through the use of motions. It’s used in conjunction with the Moen Smart Water App, which allows users to set water temperatures.

It also has all the features of the older version of the Moen Smart Faucet offers, including voice-activated controls.

Options with handles are also available. The handle and handle-free styles will be available to purchase in April. Prices start at $675 USD (roughly $857 CAD) and vary on the various finishes and options available. MobileSyrup has reached out for more information regarding Canadian pricing.

You can check out more news from CES 2022 here.

Image source: Moen

Source: The Verge 

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Mobile Syrup

Your old smartphones can double as a smart home hub with this product

If you have a drawer full of old smartphones that haven’t seen the light of day for a while, an Italian startup called Domethics’ new Internet of things (IoT) device might just give them a purpose.

Domethics’ new product, Adriano, is a smart home hub that uses your old smartphone/tablet as its main screen to control devices in and around your house through a dedicated app. It uses different communication protocols, including Z-Wave, ZigBee, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0, allowing it to communicate and control devices like smart lights/bulbs, smart thermostats, electrical outlets and more.

Domethics’ Adriano has already been awarded the CES Innovation Award Honoree and is expected to launch a Kickstarter next week.

The device functions wirelessly, thanks to integrated batteries that work in tandem with your old smartphone’s battery, along with the ability to function without Wi-Fi, in which case, the device relies on the phone’s 4G or 5G networks to communicate, making it a uniquely portable smart home hub.

Further, Adriano features motion sensors on its front that turn on your old smartphone’s camera, allowing you to monitor what’s happening around it, similar to other smart home hubs like the Amazon Echo Show 10.

Adriano can be controlled via voice, gestures or through its dedicated app and is made with recycled plastic.

Check out this video to learn more about Adriano and how it can give a purpose to old smartphones that otherwise won’t make it out of your drawers.

You can check out more news from CES 2022 here.

Image credit: Domethics